Massachusetts Cross Country Announces 2021 Schedule

AMHERST, Mass. – University of Massachusetts cross country will be back in action this fall with a slate of eight meets as the squads unveiled their 2021 schedule on Monday. Men's head coach Tim Ritchie begins his fourth season at the helm for the Minutemen, while Christine Engel will embark on her first campaign as head coach of the Minutewomen.

The teams will open up their seasons on Saturday, September 4, with UMass' first trip to St. Albans, Vermont to take on New England rivals UMass Lowell, Northeastern and Vermont at the Vermont Invitational.

The following Saturday, September 11, UMass will continue the annual tradition of hosting the Ken O'Brien Minuteman Invitational while welcoming alumni back to campus to enjoy each other's company and a quintessential early fall day in Amherst. On the men's side, UMass has won its past two home meets. Boston University and Amherst College will join the field this year, increasing the depth of competition.

On Friday, September 24, UMass will make its first of three trips to Franklin Park in Boston this fall as the squads head to the Coast to Coast Battle in Beantown. This meet will serve as early test on a familiar course against high level competition as the field is expected to feature a number of top-30 teams from across the nation.

The Minutemen and Minutewomen then return to Franklin Park on Saturday, October 9, for the New England Championships. Both teams will be looking to improve upon their third-place finishes from 2019 while preparing for A-10's in a championship meet setting.

On Saturday, October 16, UMass will travel to New Jersey for the Princeton Invitational with the men making a return trip after all seven runners set PRs in 2019, while the Minutewomen will make their first appearance at the meet. The race will serve as a dress rehearsal for the Atlantic 10 Championships with the Minutemen and Minutewomen squaring off against several other A-10 opponents in the field on a similar course to the one that awaits them at the end of October in Dayton, Ohio.

On Saturday, October 30, UMass will head west to compete on a new course in the Atlantic 10 Championships rotation as Dayton will host the 2021 A-10 meet. Building off a robust and well-rounded slate of races this fall, the Minutemen and Minutewomen will look to improve upon their 2020-21 A-10 performances as the conference championships was the lone opportunity for the squads to see action last season due to the COVID 19 pandemic.

After three years in Buffalo, New York, the NCAA Northeast Regional Championships return to Franklin Park in Boston on Friday, November 12. Using the experiences of racing the Franklin Park course twice earlier in the season, the Minutemen and Minutewomen will look to climb the ladder among their peers in the region.

University of Massachusets Athletics

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